We have a wonderful optional music program that is operated by Maureen Harris (M.Ed., B.M.A., Mont. Cert.). Please note that this program is over and above our regular music curriculum that we do in each classroom. More information on the program can also be found here: http://www.montessorimozarts.com/.
Why study music?
The goal of Montessori education is to develop to the fullest the three aspects of the child’s nature – body, mind, and spirit. Learning music happily involves all three of these dimensions and can, therefore, be a highly integrating force in the development of the child’s personality. Music-making involves a physical activity (moving, singing, playing), produced by mental direction (matching a pitch or rhythmic pattern), to convey a sentiment or idea .
Since music is a language – the movement of sounds through time to express an idea, its assimilation by the child follows the same sequence as that of the mother tongue.
- Absorption through listening, before the speech mechanism is expressive;
- Mimicry/babbling/articulation of first words, phrases, and sentences;
- Written and read language.
This sequence gives us a powerful tool, like a pedagogical outline, for preparing the ‘musical environment’ for the young child.
Because modern neurological research tells us that the ear begins to function in utero about the fifth month of pregnancy, an expectant mother can expose her developing fetus to music before birth through singing and rocking. The newborn needs a matrix of silence into which musical sounds are introduced (rhymes and ditties, repeated again and again) and stillness into which rhythmic movement is introduced (bouncing, pat-a-cake, rocking, clapping). The parents are initially the most effective persons to do these activities with the child, for they involve bonding, thereby inducing security and health.
When the child enters a Montessori preschool environment, the use of music as a spontaneous expression continues and the teacher gradually introduces the ‘elements of music’ in a more structured way.
- Rhythm: Beginning with the walking on the line and progressing to other natural expressions of movement, such as running, skipping, and galloping, the child begins to associate certain rhythmic figures with bodily movements. Also, through the use of echoes, both verbal and rhythmic (clapping, tapping knees, snapping) children acquire a vocabulary of simple rhythms.
- Pitch: Through daily singing of songs, nursery rhymes and fingerplays, children begin to acquire a sense of pitch. The Montessori bell material affords the child the opportunity to hear musical sounds in isolation – to match, grade, and name them. Work with both the pentatonic and diatonic scale patterns gives exposure to different pitch relationships, which are the building blocks of melody.
- Timbre: Children are introduced to the instruments of the orchestra, with their various tone qualities, and learn the names of the instruments and their respective sounds.
- Intensity: Children hear pieces with different gradations of volume, a quiet lullaby, a strong march.
- Form: Children realize through listening to selected music that there is a form to music, just as there is a form (syntax) to language.
- Culture: As teachers introduce music, whether vocal or instrumental, its place and time of origin is given so children begin to relate music to history and geography.
When the child moves into the Montessori Elementary level, all the above elements are continued in more detail, with the addition of notation. Using the movable staff material the child learns how to make permanent the tunes he/she has invented. This notation material performs the same function in music that the movable alphabet does in language. Increasingly, music is allied to its cultural roots and is studied as an expression of ethnicity and as part of the fabric of a given culture at a particular time. The children study the heroes and heroines of music and make timelines of composers to discover how musical forms and styles have evolved through the ages.
What is the expected result of a thorough experience of music from birth through the school years? The philosopher Susanne Langer has said, “What discursive symbolism – language in its literal use – does for our awareness of things about us and our own relation to them, the arts do for our subjective reality feeling and emotion – they give inward experiences form and thus make them conceivable.” Concurrent with emphasis on the developing cognitive skills must go attention to the child’s affective life, the inner thoughts and feelings. Through regular exposure to the great music of the past and present, the child has touchstone with his/her own inner life of the spirit. †
Programs
Montessori Mozarts Make Music – Casa Level
This program provides a child-centered musical environment to facilitate development in all curriculum areas. It builds a solid foundation of understanding and enjoyment of music while allowing the child to explore and develop his/her own strengths in a variety of musical areas. Working together in small age-specific groups enables the child to learn fundamental music skills.
- Singing together - creates a special bond and prepares for language development;
- Creative movement - develops individual expressiveness and coordination;
- Music reading and theory - are refined with group activities and with;
- Hands-on Montessori materials;
- Composing - integrates aural and written skills and gives children a sense of ownership;
- Rhythm ensemble - develops beat, inner-hearing and nurtures self-confidence and communication skills.
Private Piano Instruction
The skills learned are:
- Standard piano repertoire;
- Ear training;
- Music theory and history;
- Composition;
- Listening;
- Sight reading;
- Music vocabulary;
- Performance preparation.
Private Vocal Instruction
The skills learned are:
- Standard vocal repertoire;
- Ear training;
- Music theory and history;
- Listening;
- Sight singing;
- Music vocabulary;
- Audition preparation.
Teacher
Maureen Harris was born in Ireland and emigrated to Canada after completing her studies in piano in Europe. Maureen graduated from University of Windsor (B.M.A. in vocal), has completed her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education at Michigan State University; and received her Montessori teacher certification at the 'National Centre for Montessori Education'. ‘Montessori Mozarts Make Music’ was founded through incorporating the leading approaches and philosophies that influence early childhood, music and movement education today. It is a Montessori-based music education program for children aged newborn to 8 years old. Maureen is also the music and movement teacher-trainer for several Montessori training centers in Canada and Europe. She has 20 years of music experience in performance and instruction, and 10+ years Montessori and early childhood education experience. She shares a deep commitment to the Montessori philosophy and instilling a lifetime appreciation of music in every child.
